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It’s a well-worn truism: Hiring is both one of the most important and difficult tasks any entrepreneur faces in building a business. The quality of people filling a company's ranks ripples through every measure of performance – sales, product development and partner relations included. More importantly, it determines whether you actually enjoy heading into work every day. With each new recruit, business owners fine-tune the DNA of their firms, so it pays to get it right.

By definition, members of Forbes' list of America’s Most Promising Companies have all found some answers to the eternal mystery of hiring effectively. Yet with sales doubling each year and companies expanding at a breakneck pace, the issue of recruiting high-caliber employees takes on a new level of urgency and challenge.

But look past that unfortunate reality and each company has found reliable mechanisms to make sure they’re getting the people they need, when they need them. Right from the mouths of three stunningly talented entrepreneurs, here are three tips on hiring:

Recognize The Need, Early

When business is booming, it’s easy to get complacent. “If it ain’t broke…”right? In that vein, Alan Martin, the 33 year-old CEO of CampusBookRentals, makes a valuable point before deferring to his elders on the issue of hiring. “Part of the art,” he says, “is recognizing that you need to find new people in the first place. I think it’s easy to get pretty comfortable with the team that’s around you.”

There are always reasons to put off expanding a payroll, and too often, entrepreneurs wait until the absolute last minute to add a key hire. Sure, no one wants to over-recruit or mess with a dynamic that’s delivering great results, but do you really think you’re going to make a considered recruitment decision while scrambling to add a new account rep? Eric Stromberg, a veteran of Hunch who now runs a startup called Oyster, writes about the idea of having a “bench” - a running list of candidates to call on once a key spot opens up. Anticipating your recruitment needs with smart, simple solutions like this will make life that much easier when new business sends you running to a recruitment firm.

Even if the need isn’t urgent, Martin mentions that new blood can add an unexpected spark to humming operations. If you can burn off the clouds cloaking the vision of your growing business, you’ll often see that the need for more personnel is right around the corner.

Don’t Skimp On HR

E-Cycle CEO Christopher Irion has what many business owners would enviably classify as a “good problem.” It’s also a classic dilemma facing many of America’s Most Promising Companies.

His company, which recycles smart phones for corporate clients, is on pace to add 25 people each quarter of 2012, nearly doubling the size of its 2011 payroll. But as Irion points out, pulling the trigger on hiring isn’t enough – companies also need the logistical infrastructure to stomach new recruits. As growth ramped up last year, he found that an under-resourced recruitment division stymied his ability to hire and keep pace with sales. Even as new positions opened up, e-Cycle “just didn’t have the HR bandwidth to get it done,” he remembers.